Furniture skirt construction

ABSTRACT

An upholstered furniture skirt construction and method for making same wherein a U-shaped curtain with evenly and upwardly positioned first and second edges is secured adjacent the front surface of the upholstered furniture article, and a double welt is extended continuously along and over these edges so that the skirt hangs substantially vertically from the front surface of the furniture article.

United States Patent Staley 1 1 Apr. 25, 1972 FURNITURE SKIRTCONSTRUCTION [72] Inventor: Herbert C. Staley, PO. Box 1812, High Point,NC. 27461 [22] Filed: May 24, 1971 211 App]. No.: 146,178

[52] 11.5. CI ..l ....5/333, 297/219 [51] Int. Cl ..A47c 21/00 [58]Field ofSearch ..5/333, 353, 353.l,353.2, 353.3, 5/353.4, 353.5, 353.6,353.7, 353.8; 297/219, 225,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 576,020 1/1897 Bailey..$/333X D'Arcy ..5/35 3.7 Weinberg ..5/333 Primary Examiner-Bobby R.Gay Assistant Examiner-Andrew M. Calvert Attorney-Charles Y. Lackey [57]ABSTRACT An upholstered furniture skirt construction and method formaking same wherein a U-shaped curtain with evenly and upwardlypositioned first and second edges is secured adjacent the front surfaceof the upholstered furniture article, and a double welt isextendedcontinuously along and over these edges so that the skirthangssubstantially vertically from the front surface of the furniturearticle.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPR 25 I972 I 5. 65?:750

INVENTOR. H E RBE RT 0. STALEY FURNITURE SKIRT CONSTRUCTION IBACKGROUND, BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION tape in thegeneral direction of the supporting surface or floor.

These curtains are usually lined so that a second fabric layer issecured to the inner side of the curtain.

Unfortunately, when relatively heavy fabric material such as thatnormally used in upholstering furniture is formed into a curtain, thebend over the securing tape is not sufficiently precise to allow thecurtain to hang substantially vertically from the frame front surface.The curtain has a tendency to extend outwardly from the front of thefurniture article, and a conventional lining usually increases thisundesirable characteristic. Additionally, when the curtain fabric hasbeen penetrated by pins during the fabricating process, the fabric willhave a tendency to pucker at some later time after it has been put intouse and subjected to changes in temperature and humidity.

The present invention avoids the problems inherent in conventional skirtconstruction. A U-shaped curtain is formed with its first and secondedges positioned evenly together and extending upwardly so that thecurtain can be affixed to the frame front surface. An integrally formeddoublt welt is placed continuously along and over the first and secondedges, and the double welt and the U-shaped curtain is then secured tothe frame front surface. Since there is no bending of the fabric over asecuring tape as in conventional construction, the U- shaped curtainextends substantially vertically from the frame front surface toward thesupporting surface. To amplify the vertical drape of the curtain, aninsert may be positioned within the curtain. No pins need be used duringthe fabricating process, so the pucker problem is eliminated.

The method of constructing the present invention includes eitherstapling the integral double welt and the U-shaped curtain to the framefront surface, gluing both of these components to the surface or joiningthe integral double welt and U-shaped curtain prior to attachment to theframe front surface. Either method is equally suitable.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a primary object of the presentinvention is to provide a novel dress skirt for upholstered furniturewhich will hang substantially vertically from the furniture frame.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forfabricating dress skirts for upholstered furniture which is moreefficient, economical and reliable than the conventional method offurniture skirt construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a furnitureskirt and method for making same resulting in a far more aestheticallyappealing component than heretofore produced under conventionalprocedures.

These and other objects of the present invention will become moreapparent after a consideration of the following detailed specificationtaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters of reference designate like parts throughout the severalviews.

FIGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. I is a perspective and fragmentary view of anarticle of upholstered furniture embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary and front elevational view of anarticle of upholstered furniture embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional and side elevational viewof a conventionally constructed dress skirt for upholstered furniture.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional and side elevational viewof a dress skirt for upholstered furniture constituting one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of an integrally fonned double weltconstituting a component of the present invention.

FIG-6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional and side elevational viewof another embodiment of the present invention wherein the U-sha pedcurtain and integral double welt are glued to the frame front surface ofthe furniture article.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary and sectional view of the integral double weltand U-shaped curtain which have been sewn together prior to attachmentto the frame front surface of the furniture article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 3 illustrates the upholstered furniture article dress skirt fonnedby the conventional method of securing one end of the curtain fabricmaterial 10 downwardly and adjacent to the front surface 12 of furniturearticle frame 14 which has been covered with some suitable upholsteringmaterial 16. A strip 18 of tape or backing material is then fastenedagainst the inner surface .20 of curtain material '10, and both the tapeand the curtain material are then secured to the frame front surface 12by a plurality of tacks 22 or some other suitable means. The curtainmaterial 10 is normally dressed with a lining 24 as illustrated in FIG.3.

While furniture skirts are adequate in appearance when formed by thisprocedure, it will be apparent that the curtain has a tendency. toextend generally outwardly away from surface 12 of frame 14 in themanner shown because of the sharp bend in the fabric 10 when it extendsoutwardly and downwardly over strip 18. The addition of lining 24 inmany instances compounds the problem since temperature and humidity willaffect the appearance of both the fabric 10 and the lining 24 whenirregularities, pin holes or flaws have been put into the materialduring the fabricating process.

The present invention is designed to overcome the undesirable featuresin appearance of prior art furniture skins and provide a more efficientand positive method for fabricating those skirts. Referring to FIG. 4, asegment of material 26 of preselected length and width is folded uponitself to form a U- shaped curtain 28 having its first and second edges30 and 32 positioned evenly and upwardly together against the framefront surface 34 hereagain covered by suitable upholstery fabric 36. Anintegral double welt 38 (see FIG. 5) is extended continuously along andover first and second edges 30 and 32 to hide these edges and form adress seam appealing in appearance.

The U-shaped curtain and integral double welt may be affixed to surface34 by a number of equally suitable means, among them including tacks orstaples 40 (FIG. 4), glue 42 (FIG. 6) or other measures. It is alsopossible to continuously sew the integral double welt 38 to the evenlyand upwardly extending first and second edges (FIG. 7) prior to afiixingthese components to the front surface of the frame. When tacks orstaples are used to attach the components to the frame, they are, ofcourse, directed between the two welts which are integrally connected sothat they are not visible in the finished product because of the closeproximity of the welts each to the other.

Double welt 38 is of conventional construction and is fonned by wrappingfabric 44 from both edges about braided or corded material 46 as shownin FIG. 5. This double welt construction is conventionally used to coverthe junction line between wood and fabric on upholstered furniture.

While there has been described a number of embodiments of upholsteredfurniture dress skirts and 'methods for fabricating same, it will beobvious to those skilled in the art that a number of modifications canbe made in the article and method without departing from the spirit andpurpose of the invention. Such modifications are contemplated.

I claim:

2. A skirt as claimed in claim 1, said retaining means including aplurality of spaced apart staples.

3. A skirt as claimed in claim 1, said retaining means including a filmof glue applied at selected locations.

4. A skirt as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an insert positionedwithin said U-shaped curtain to encourage said curtain to drapesubstantially vertically from said frame front surface.

1. A dress skirt for upholstered furniture having a frame with a frontsurface supported by a plurality of legs maintaining the frame asuitable distance from a supporting surface, said skirt comprising: aU-shaped curtain adjacent the frame front surface, said curtain havingfirst and second edges positioned evenly and upwardly together againstthe frame front surface; a double welt extending continuously along andover said first and second edges; and means retaining said curtain firstand second edges and said double welt adjacent said frame front surface.2. A skirt as claimed in claim 1, said retaining means including aplurality of spaced apart staples.
 3. A skirt as claimed in claim 1,said retaining means including a film of glue applied at selectedlocations.
 4. A skirt as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an insertpositioned within said U-shaped curtain to encourage said curtain todrape substantially vertically from said frame front surface.